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Hot Stuff - Dingo Sauce Co.

There is no shortage of novelty “hotter-than-thou” sauces that do damage but severely lack in the taste department. How nice is it to come across a brand that is being driven by a chef with over two decades of experience under his belt?

Dingo Sauce Co. was founded in North Fremantle in 2016 by chilli-enthusiast Leigh Nash, whose cuisine has harboured a weak spot for the intricate flavour balance Asian cooking brings to the table, i.e. the calibration between sweet, spicy, hot and sour.  Having grown his own chillies and his dissatisfaction with ready-made sauces plagued with additives, Leigh started to experiment with local produce, finetune and eventually bottle his own variant of his favourite Sriracha sauce.

What started as a hobby, evolved to a professional and commercial level once local demand surged and the outcome of a crowdfunding campaign allowed for the acquisition of equipment to take the operation to the next level and the rest is history, as Dingo Sauce is now widely distributed and has become a favourite amongst chilli-evangelists for a reason.

My first exposure to Dingo Sauce Co. ( https://dingosauceco.com/ ) was their Thai style Chilli Jam, which with the chilli paste having been slow cooked for over ten hours, is an explosion of flavours. It not only adds moderate heat but a flavoursome dimension to any dish with the textured melange of shrimp paste, fish sauce and tamarind that add a nice level of sweetness and depth to the foundation of the Caysan chillies.

What I like about Dingo Sauce Co. are their specialised sauces that authentically take detours from the tried and tested hot sauces trail. An example par excellence is the Korean BBQ sauce, which as the name suggests uses gochujang (Korean chilli paste) and a blend of sesame oil, soy, rice vinegar and honey. Perfect for marinading and dipping, it has become a favourite go-to and allrounder for any grill related exercises.

Given that Dingo started as a riff on Leigh’s favourite sriracha sauce, I was intrigued as to what his reimagined Super-Hot Sriracha was going to be.

Dialling up the heat with the addition of ghost pepper and scorpion chillies, this baby is a tad more intense as the compound impact of red jalapeños and Caysan would suggest, however, heat is not an end in itself as one can tell that there is a delicate balance between the different heat sources and how they are dialled in.

Now, if you really like it next level hot, Dingo’s Widow Maker Hot Sauce will be your go-to as you might have witnessed in an episode of Hot Ones’ season 11, where it was featured. What we got here is an all-out heat attacked fuelled by the unfiltered hotness of six peppers, e.g. Naga Viper, Carolina Reaper, Moruga and Ghost.

While this one is solidly in heat territory with 682,000 SHUs on the Scoville Scale and not recommended to administer in large doses, again there are nuances of lime, smoke and garlic that give this sauce a fiery yet even-tempered, controlled burn.

As Dingo Sauce’s portfolio is consistently growing, I am looking forward to tasting how they are going to channel their alchemy in the future.

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images from company website

The Story of Looking

Mark Cousins

Allen & Unwin

We are drowning in images and the accessibility and affordability of smartphones with ever improving cameras has massively changed both our approach to taking photos and our behaviour in them.

In this book The Story of Looking Mark Cousins examines across the realms of history, art, film, photography, science and technology how our view at things has (d)evolved from the cradle to the grave, illustrating his viewpoints with examples along the way.

Cousins’ reference points are eclectic, thematically often freely associated and resemble a tour de force through history, following his own stream of consciousness with juxtapositions galore that should prove to be thought-provoking for anyone remotely interesting in art and media.

What Mark Cousins achieves with his tome is that it makes one take a step back and reassess the act of looking, something that in itself is usually just taken for granted and not usually being assessed as compared to the respective object being inspected. A direly needed impulse in a turbulent and narcissistic age where the selfie has effectively replaced the self-portrait and both the banality and number of images produced to see ourselves in the world and shared via social media is ever increasing.

Centred around the span of a lifetime of an individual, The Story of Looking is many things depending on what you take away from it. On a deeper level and with its focus on detail, I found it triggering questions about perceptions and attitudes at large as the power of images continues to shape associations and thought processes.

A thought-provoking and engagingly written book that highlights in a deep yet playful way that the world we live in has become much more finely grained and how much the brain is ever updating the visual field, no matter how differently we look at things.

Water of Life – Kavalan Port Cask and Distiller’s Reserve Rum Cask

Where do I start with Kavalan to give the uninitiated a faint idea of what they have been missing out on?

Based in Yuanshan, Taiwan, Kavalan has firmly established itself on the firmament of top distilleries that consistently surprises and surpasses expectations with their continuous release of quality drops.

The Port Cask expression, part of their flawless Solist series, is another example for their excellence that emerges from the pot stills in Eastern Asia: Upon approach, the fabulously spicy yet sugary and citrussy aromas are captivating as they are punctured by highlights of cherries and other dried, dark stone fruits. One can tell from the get-go, that this cask strength variant has a lot of character, which unveils itself in a layered manner.

What materializes on the top of the roof is a very defined melange of oakiness that is complimented by summer berries and vanilla-forward malty undertones that rest on a foundation of milk chocolate. I specifically like the textured mouthfeel, which is defined by a nuttiness on one end of the spectrum, and red fruity berries at the other end.

As the ABV of 58.6% suggests, the Port Cask Strength packs a punch, however, it is so well calibrated that the high alcohol content is dangerously subdued and with the elongated, resounding finish culminating in a crescendo of citrus fruits, leather and zesty lemon. A powerful, rich single malt with an incredible flavour profile that will have you reaching for another dram in no time.

Now, as if Kavalan’s Solist expressions are not enough, things are taken to yet another level with Kavalan’s Distillery Exclusive Rum Cask, which – as the name suggests – is due to its rarity difficult to get a hold of with only 400-450 small bottles being bottled.

Not unlike with other Kavalan expressions, the information provided is granular and gives the opportunity to not only arrive at the cask number but also details as to when exactly it was bottled. Transparent as can be.

Compared to the aforementioned Port Cask, the Rum Cask is more subtle and, dare I say, velvety smooth with honey, vanilla and notes of pear, mango and caramel reeling you in through the nostrils. Again, despite the relatively high alcohol content, it is attenuated to the extent where it is devoid of the sting you’d get from expressions from less sophisticated distillers.

Not surprising for a Rum Cask, what materializes on the palate with a creamy mouthfeel is sweet, with sugary notes derived from the molasses and lovely balanced flavours very much reminiscent of peppery rum and oaky spice.

The finish ties in with what one would expect from a rum – not terribly long, but sweet with nice tart notes and sugary with raisiny highlights.

Summa summarum - two fantastic expressions hitting high notes on the claviature of completely different flavour profiles with the common denominator being a consistently well-calibrated, complex and simply delicious level.

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Images from company website

June: Black Lives Matter

Thanks for checking in on this month's Search/Play/Repeat where I listen to albums I've never heard before and then make a playlist of some of my favorite tracks from those albums. Sometimes I'm just playing catch up on an artist's discography, and sometimes I discover something completely new. The end result I hope being that both you and I find something new. Last month I decided to forgo sharing a playlist due to the lack of Black representation in the playlist. This month's playlist is made up entirely of Black artists of all genres, old and new. Let's get to it!

Kicking off the playlist is the iconic, Jimi Hendrix. I've ultimately refrained from listening to much of Hendrix throughout my life mostly because... well... I've been hearing him my whole life. You hear the same four or five songs enough times and you start to feel like you've heard it all. Not that "Purple Haze" and "Hey Joe" aren't classics, it's just another case of overexposure leading to disinterest. Much like Bohemian Rhapsody's press-junket souring my love for Queen. I decided it was finally time to give the man his due and dig further into his discography since Are You Experienced is the only album of his I've heard. As it turns out, Axis: Bold as Love is a magnificent record! I found the stronger R&B and Jazz-Fusion direction more gratifying than AYE's Psych-Rock. Another "classic" I finally checked out a big one within the Punk community -- Bad Brains. Bad Brains' self-titled album has been an easy one to avoid all these years. I hadn't really heard much aside from "Pay to Cum" and "Banned in D.C."  Reports of HR's hate and homophobia has been so prevalent and was a huge turn-off. The band's influence on the Afro-Punk movement is undeniable, but damn if that album doesn't feel tarnished.

Fortunately, they weren't the only all-Black Punk band from the 70s and 80s. Before Bad Brains, there was Pure Hell. Up until recently, I had never heard of the self-proclaimed "first Black Punk band in the world." Pure Hell is another band, like Death, that was lost among Punk's historical roots. Let's be real, that's not an accident. They only released a single before calling it quits in 1978, despite having a full album recorded. It eventually came out... in 2005. I decided to jump to the other side of the early punk-spectrum with Ska group, The Selecter. For the longest time, I used to think The Selecter and The Specials were the same band. Like, I thought it was one of those situations where The Specials lost members so they just changed their name. It didn't help that their history was so intertwined. Another Ska band I finally checked out was Fishbone. The only time I ever saw Less Than Jake, they were supported by Fishbone and it was one of the most fun times I've had at a show. It's taken me way too long to finally check them out. From my understanding, they genre-jump a bit, so I'm curious to check out more.

My favorite discovery this month is The 1865 (which, ironically, I discovered on Juneteenth). A fairly new band with music that borders between Punk and Post-Punk and lyrics sung from the perspective of a post-Emancipation America in 1865. It's a history lesson and amazing music rolled into one. I highly suggest checking out their album, Don't Tread on We. Probably the best punk album I missed from 2019. Another newcomer to the scene I checked out is Meet Me @ the Altar. Fast-paced Pop-Punk like a cross between older-Paramore and Heartsounds. I was happy to see them get added to the Riot Fest bill for next year (assuming it still happens. ::GULP::)!

It wasn't all Punk all month. Run the Jewels released an "album of the year" contender. I swear it's just coincidence that the song I put on the playlist samples Gang of Four. I'm a huge fan of K-OS' Atlantis, but I never got far into his discography.  I dug into his back catalog to check out Joyful Rebellion as well as the new EP he just released in May. I threw a little Soul into the mix with Charles Bradley and Sharon Jones. Both were modern day classic Soul revivalists that passed away in 2017 and 2016 respectively.

That's going to close out June's playlist. Thanks for listening. I hope you found something new to your liking and I encourage you to search, play, and repeat. In the meantime, continue to fight for and lift Black voices. It makes a difference. Minneapolis is dismantling its police force. Racist monuments are toppling. However, many murderous officers still haven't been held accountable. Keep up the pressure.

Hot Stuff - Marysol

The realm of hot sauces is plastered with novelty brands that sacrifice flavour for the sake of hear. While the destruction of tastebuds might be an end in itself for some and can be fun to explore at times, if there is no flavour experience, the appeal wears off quickly. Then there are ones that deliver the heat yet in a manner that makes the condiment an attraction and integral part of any meal it contributes to.

Both South Korea and Mexico have a long-standing history of spiciness in their respective cuisines and the fact that Marysol’s founders head from those countries, piqued my interest in exploring what they have concocted after joining forces.

Devoid of preservatives, nasty additives, emulsifiers and based on a foundation of chillies from New South Wales and Queensland, vinegar from West of Byron and sea salt from the Great Australian Bite, Marysol currently channels its alchemy in three variations.

Marysol’s key Hot Sauce is their medium heat red habanero expression: Deeply red in colour, it has a wonderfully chunky texture enhanced by the still visible chili pieces and meanders between the coordinates of vinegar, cumin and chili robustly yet in a well-calibrated manner. With the heat hitting quickly and not building up, it is an ideal accompaniment to savoury dishes, e.g. eggs, burgers and smoked salmon.

My favourite of the day-to-day Marysol line-up is their Verde variant, which is a blend of Australian hot green chillies, white wine vinegar and spices. Compared to the red habanero one, this one is more on the citrussy and zesty end of the spectrum and adds a bit of bite, which I love my seafood to be enhanced with.

Now, no hot sauce brand would be complete without an extreme expression and in Marysol’s case, the extract of various Australia extreme chillies is channelled into The Phantom, to deliver an extra kick.

Extreme heat hot sauces can be tricky as that not only tend to sting upon entry but then dangerously build up, which is exactly the case here as the hotness reverberates on the way down the throat to the stomach.

Again, despite things being heated, Marysol manages to pepper in nuances, which in this case are reminiscent of Mango tropical fruits, black peppercorns and an excellent lingering smoky long aftertaste.

Aesthetically, Marysol’s triumvirate is housed in one of the better looking and pleasingly shaped glasses, which are adorned with artfully created labels paying homage to the founders’ Asian and North American heritage and make the experience a feast not only for the palate but also for the eye.

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images from company website